Tag Archives: obesity

Should body weight be considered a protected class under Civil Rights laws? According to 3 out of 4 people asked in a new study, the answer is yes.

New research from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity shows most Americans support policies addressing weight discrimination. In fact, at least 60 percent of Americans are supportive of policy efforts to address weight discrimination across the country.

According to Rebecca Puhl, PhD, study author and deputy director of the Rudd Center, “More than two-thirds of adults in the United States are affected by overweight or obesity, meaning they are also vulnerable to the stigma and discrimination that these proposed policies and laws would help prevent.”

People hate being wrong. They hate it even more when they’re wrong about good news. That’s the situation researchers are now facing with contrasting reports about childhood obesity.

In February, it was announced the obesity rate for children fell just over 40 percent in a decade. How great is that? A 40 percent drop in childhood obesity means progress in the fight against obesity is being made. A 40 percent drop means we’re finally gaining some ground. Unfortunately, that 40 percent drop doesn’t show the whole picture.

There is not a specific number that I am shooting for – I’ll stop when I’m healthy.

Kelly Therieau isn’t striving to reach a magical number on the scale, she just wants to be a better, healthier version of herself. After losing 113 pounds, she’s well on her way. Today, Kelly opens up about the “light bulb” moment that created clarity for her “cold turkey” weight loss, and the way she’s using her journey to help others.

At almost 300 pounds, Kelly knew she was headed into dangerous territory. When diabetes, liver issues and heart distress made her a weekly visitor to her doctor’s office, she felt her health spiraling further out of control. Her doctor confirmed this when he sat her down and told her if she didn’t make a huge lifestyle change, she wouldn’t live to see 40. She was only 36.

She had often joked that she was still carrying 19 years worth of baby fat, but sitting in the car after that appointment, she remembers having a, “huge meltdown.” At that moment she knew it was time for the jokes and excuses to end. A lifetime of bad eating habits and inactivity had taken their toll.

Obesity rates are above 15 percent in all but one of the 189 communities surveyed by Gallup and Healthways, despite the goal set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Healthy People 2010 program.

In fact, according to their survey, the U.S. obesity rate as a whole rose to 27.1 percent, which is the highest rate recorded nationwide since Gallup and Healthways began tracking in 2008.

Recently actor Quinton Aaron was asked to give up his seat on a US Airways connecting flight because of his size. The star of the Oscar winning movie, The Blind Side says he didn’t cause a scene or ask the airline to reconsider, he simply grabbed his bag and left as quickly as he could.

In The Blind Side, Aaron played the real life Michael Oher, a homeless teen who is taken in by a local family and raised as their own. Oher would eventually join the NFL as an offensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans. Standing 6 foot 8 and weighing 550 pounds, Aaron’s size was perfect for the role, but after this “humiliating experience,” he’s determined to lose weight.

In the past, Aaron avoided the seat issue by flying first class, but when there were none available on the US Airways flight, he had to buytwo economy seats. This solution worked until the the passenger who purchased the third seat arrived on the sold out flight.

He told ABC News, “As I saw the seats, I’m literally hoping that no one had to sit next to me because I knew it wasn’t going to work if they did.” He was asked to leave the plane and was re-booked on a later flight.

We know sugar intake is linked to obesity and obesity-related diseases and that reducing sugar intake can have positive effects on overall health. Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) made a decision that shows it agrees wholeheartedly, advising people to halve the amount of sugar in their diet, from a recommended 10-percent to five-percent.

This dramatic shift is the first change in recommendation since 2002. “It is a tragedy that it has taken 10 years for the WHO to think about changing their recommendation on sugar,” nutritionist and campaigner Katharine Jenner told BBC News. We totally agree.

Though the change has taken a while, it’s sure to make some waves now that it’s arrived. Here’s what you can expect: (more…)

Earlier in the month, the Huffington Post reported that more than sixty percent of adults in England are overweight or obese. We’ve written about this before,but the trend seems to be growing—along with people’s pant sizes. Apparently Jamie Oliver‘s healthy food habits haven’t caught on in his homeland. (Maybe it’s time he turn his focus back to the U.K. after working on our Americanhealth habits!)

But wait. The United States hasn’t exactly gotten on board with healthy eating either: the nation had the highest obesity rate of all countries, as of March 2013: a reported 2/3 of all adults (people over 20 years of age) are overweight and an approximate 1/3 of Americans are obese. Right below the United States is Mexico, who has an obesity rate of about 25%.

In an attempted takedown like that of the tobacco industry in the 90s, lawyers are asking state attorneys general to sue the food industry to make them pay for obesity-related health care costs.

Lawyer Paul McDonald, partner at Valorem Law Group in Chicago, is heading up the movement asking 16 states to take on Big Food.

“I believe that this is the most promising strategy to lighten the economic burden of obesity on states and taxpayers and to negotiate broader public health policy objectives,” he told POLITICO.

Mary Hartley, R.D. shared some of her concerns about litigation of this kind with us. “Lawyers who took on the tobacco companies are fishing for new money,” she said. “They want to take on the food companies, and they see the best route as through the attorneys general. Independent lawyers would do the legal work for the attorneys general in exchange for a cut of the settlement.”

According to the latest, and frankly most, state health rankings, the healthiest states are mostly found in the western and northeastern parts of the country while the least healthy are in the South. America’s Health Rankings have released their list for 2013, with Hawaii taking the top health spot.

The top three is rounded out by Vermont and Minnesota. At the bottom of the overall list are Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. To determine the overall health of each state, America’s Health Rankings combined information about individual health choices, environment, public policy and clinical care. States were also ranked on percentage of adult population who smoke, are obese, are physically inactive, and have diabetes.

We’ve figured out what causes obesity. Larger portion sizes at restaurants, lack of exercise and poorly balanced diets are the reasons our collective waistbands are growing. That’s it, end of story. However, according to a recent article in the New York Times, it may not be that simple.

New research is suggesting biological factors may be just as important as behavioral ones when determining obesity’s cause. One new study states the makeup of bacteria in an individual’s digestive system could play a role in whether or not they become obese. These bacteria are responsible for regulating how much fat is stored in your body, and vary from person to person.

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